Where are we currently and where are we headed?
The Montrose real estate market is continuing to cool to a manageable pace it once was before the urban flight and pandemic of 2020. We’re seeing numbers reflect what was the market of 2019, with about 15 properties going under contract per week during the fall season.
We do believe prices are leveling out. There are no signs of a current or future crash in our local market, especially with available housing inventory sitting at only 3-months and homes still selling for 99% of asking price. For perspective, a balanced market of equal buyers and sellers is considered 6-months.
The Montrose area is down 7.3% from its price peak of $450,000 in March of this year. We’ve been hovering around the $420,000 mark over the last few months, still 4.7% higher than 12 months ago. We expect the winter to be more in line with the pre-pandemic years. We also expect unit sales to cool as the bell weather of mortgage applications plummet 37% from a year ago.
Where then are the cracks in the housing market?
We need to look at markets like Idaho which experienced a massive influx of work-from-home buyers from California and Washington. Price gains ratcheted up 40-50% in only a matter of a year or two. These markets are now prime candidates for a price correction as many remote workers are called back to the office. In relation, Montrose home prices are up approximately 30% since 2020.
Montrose may be insulated because our work-from-home population is small relative to the retired demographic relocating from the front range. The Denver Front Range is still the primary feeder market to Montrose. And yes, activity is cooling as we get back to a housing market similar to 2019.
The major leveler of the playing field, locally and nationally, is the mortgage rate environment. Nationally, housing affordability hit its lowest level since 1989. Mortgage Rates have increased to 7% from January’s 3%, adding close to an $800 monthly payment increase for a home purchase of $400,000.
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Statistics gathered from CREN MLS, criteria are all residential not including mobile or manufactured housing in Montrose. If you have a brokerage relationship with another agency, this is not intended as a solicitation. Equal opportunity housing provider. Each office is independently owned and operated. For sale by owner data not included in research findings. Sales data reflects sales from homes not limited to the Atha Team LLC. This information was gathered from Keller Williams, The National Association of Realtors, CoreLogic data analysis firm, Montrose Association of Realtors, CMU Department of Business and Economics, InfoSparks, YCharts, National Association of Realtors, Cornerstone Home Lending, and the Mortgage Brokers Association. This data is considered accurate but is not guaranteed. Copyright Atha Team LLC 2022. All Rights Reserved.